g | Photo Credit: PAUL YEUNG

Express transportation firm Federal Express Corporation (FedEx) on Tuesday said it has completed India's first intra-city drone delivery flight trials in Bengaluru in collaboration with IIT-Madras.

The trials were conducted under the research framework of the FedEx SMART Centre at IIT Madras, FedEx said in a statement.

Through detailed analysis of aerial corridors, the centre established that a 53-km road journey, which typically takes over 60 minutes, can be replaced by an aerial route of 39-42 km.

During the trials, this reduced one-way transit time to nearly 21 minutes - demonstrating the potential for step-change improvements in time-critical logistics, it said.

The flight path involved coordinated navigation through Airport Yellow and Red Zones, with all necessary permissions granted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

"This milestone reflects the FedEx SMART Centre's broader research agenda across air cargo optimisation, electric vehicle integration, and advanced demand forecasting," said Nitin Navneet Tatiwala, vice president of marketing, customer experience, and air network for Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, and Africa (MEISA) at FedEx Together, these efforts are focused on shaping future-ready, resilient and sustainable supply chain ecosystems in partnership with academia, industry and policymakers, he added.

Published on April 21, 2026